Can Obamacare Be Defunded?

POLITICS AS USUAL, OR ACTION?

by Sharon Rondeau

(Sep. 12, 2013) — On Wednesday evening, The Post & Email reported on a “trick rule” which the Republicans reportedly had planned to invoke today in order to appear to defund Obamacare while actually providing funding for it through the end of 2013.

Just before press time, however, Heritage Action announced that the “Continuing Resolution” will be tabled until next week.  Congress must pass a temporary spending bill prior to October 1, which is the date the health care exchanges are set to open.

Americans for Limited Government called the “trick rule” a “gimmick.  And a sellout.”  On Tuesday, former U.S. Senator and President of the Heritage Foundation Jim DeMint wrote an editorial announcing a billboard placed in Manhattan’s business district which reads, “Warning—Obamacare may be hazardous to your health.”

A congressional funding bill will keep the government running through the middle of December.  The federal government could be “shut down” if Congress fails to pass a spending authorization bill.

According to USA Today, Republicans are “split” over whether to provide funding for Obamacare, which Congress passed in 2010 without knowing or divulging its contents.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had declared that the bill had to be passed “so that we can find out what is in it.”

Some proponents of the bill are now advocating amendments to it which would abolish the Independent Policy Advisory Board (IPAB), which was written in to the law to make it more powerful than Congress in making decisions about Americans’ health care or denial thereof.

On July 3, the mandate to employers of more than 50 people to provide health insurance by January 1, 2014 was delayed one year, although Congress did not make the change as is constitutionally required.  Instead, the Obama White House issued a “stunning announcement” on its decision, according to The Hill.  At the time, Forbes reported that the delay would signify “a significant impact on the rollout of Obamacare, the private health insurance market, and the nation’s economy.”

At 10:19 a.m. EDT, the Associated Press reported that the House passed a measure to stop subsidies to Obamacare applicants without an improved system to verify their eligibility in order to prevent fraud.  In early July, the Obama regime announced that it would allow applicants to register based on the “honor system.”

On Twitter, Rep. Ann Wagner tweeted that she supported the bill put forth by Rep. Diane Black.

On July 24, The Weekly Standard reported that Obamacare “is now more unpopular than at any time since the Democrats passed it into law (without a single Republican vote) more than three years ago,” with more Democrats included in the source poll than Republicans.  Labor unions have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the bill’s infringement on their present health care and retirement programs.  Obama has attempted to assuage union members’ concerns by “agreeing…to sit down with some union leaders to address their concerns at the White House.”

Fox News has reported that “special treatment” for unions is a target of several House Republicans who believe that they should not receive a “sweetheart deal” from Obama.

A poll completed in the same time frame was reported to indicate that “most Americans” did not want to see Obamacare repealed, but the results of the poll are no longer posted.  The link has also been deactivated in the left-leaning Atlantic Wire article with some of the same wording.  Both National Journal and Atlantic Wire had their reports circulated by Yahoo! News, which has been known to be favorable to Obama.

The remainder of Americans are not receiving the same consideration as they discover that their current medical plans may not be available under Obamacare.  Rates for healthy young people not eligible for the federal subsidies may see their premiums double or triple nationwide.

A medical device company has recently laid off 1,000 employees because of the tax built into the bill on medical devices.  Many other employers have reduced their workers’ hours to avoid having to provide health coverage due to rising costs.

Before Obama was elected in 2008, he promised to “fundamentally transformer the United States of America.”  A believer in “spreading the wealth around,” Obama was a member of The New Party in Chicago, which sought to pull the Democrat Party to the left.

There are 70 members of Congress who are known socialists out of a total of 535.

Had the “trick rule” been used, the health care bill would have remained undisturbed, but representatives could have told their constituents who dislike Obamacare that they attempted to defund it.  Politico reported early on Thursday that 14 members of the House Republican Conference have committed to defunding the measure.

As reported by National Journal on Wednesday in an article entitled “Obamacare Opponents’ Shouts for Defunding Largely Ignored on Capitol Hill,” a Tea Party group rallied to the cause of defunding Obamacare at which Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, unveiled a plan to delay implementation of the law in exchange for allowing the debt ceiling to increase.

Many Republicans appear concerned that if there is a partial or entire government shutdown as a result of their votes, they will lose political capital.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have taken the lead in the Senate to defund Obamacare.  Both are serving their first term in Congress.

The Tea Party News Network has stated that “Tea Party approval of GOP Leadership crashes, as it should.”  Also on Thursday, the Senate Conservatives Fund reported:

Thousands of you made phone calls this week to encourage conservative lawmakers in the House to oppose the Republican leadership’s “trick rule” to fund Obamacare, and it worked.

House Republican leaders do not have the votes to advance the bill so they have pulled it from the calendar and postponed the debate until next week.

This is a major accomplishment and you made it happen.

Some Republicans in the House were annoyed by your calls, but that’s okay. They needed to know that freedom-loving Americans from across the country were counting on them to stop Obamacare.

Only 18 Days to Go — Help Us Turn Up the Heat

WHAT’S NEXT?

The American people oppose Obamacare and the votes do not currently exist in the U.S. House to fund it.